Tag: The Culinary Union

(The funniest thing is that this kid had no idea who Michael Bisping was until he walked out; he just saw him and let instinct take over.)

You might recall that, amidst all the kerfuffle of visa and fighter licensing issues that threatened to derail the UFC’s trip to Boston for their FS1 network debut, city councilor Steven Murphy filed a resolution to ban minors from attending MMA fights. Backed by the Culinary Union’s “But Think of the Children!” division, Murphy’s bill argued that “extensive research has associated exposure to media violence with a variety of physical and mental health problems for children and adolescents, including aggressive and violent behavior, bullying, desensitization to violence, fear and depression.” That’s right, Murphy’s “extensively researched” argument boiled down a laughable criminal defense usually seen on an episode of Law & Order.

“You see, it was the video game that made my client go on a shooting spree! He couldn’t tell the difference between reality and virtual reality because VICE CITY BRAINWASHED HIS FRAGILE, INNOCENT MIND.”

Yes, despite the UFC’s fervent efforts to support the anti-bullying movement, it’s an organization that, according to Murphy, lacks proper role models like say, Aaron Hernandez. As one would expect in a society that absolutely refuses to place any responsibility or blame for a child’s behavior on the parents, the bill passed unanimously this afternoon, stating “children under the age of 16 years old be prohibited from attending live amateur and professional cage fighting events in the City of Boston unless accompanied by an adult.”

Boston City Councilor Stephen Murphy – backed by “Parents Say No to UFC” – has filed a resolution that aims to ban minors from attending MMA fights. Before we go any further, two things are important to point out. Number one, obviously Parents Say No to UFC is run by the Culinary Union. Number two, this bill has no chance of becoming a law before the August 17th fight card, so don’t sell that ticket you bought for your son (or daughter!) yet.

So why is Murphy so opposed to allowing minors to watch MMA? His reasoning is pretty much the same mixture of cognitive dissonance and “Think of the goddamn children!” that you’d expect from a person who is likely being paid to be offended by a combat sport. Via BostonMagazine.com:

According to Murphy, fighters from the UFC, which is the professional level of the mixed-martial arts sport, have joked about rape, used foul and abusive language that’s demeaning to women, and used homophobic slurs, all of which, he said, set a bad example for Boston’s youth. He said the sport uses alcohol sponsors to fund the fights, which adds to the negative image that can be imposed on children.

Suffice it to say, if you aren’t aware of all the downright despicable practices The Culinary Workers Union Local 226 has pulled over the years in regards to the UFC and MMA in general, you’ve probably been living in the dark. Operating under a thinly-veiled “concern” for the conduct of UFC fighters and a need to protect our children from the potty mouth of Dana White, the CU — often backed by one or more anti-women’s violence groups — has been the driving force behind the anti-MMA movement in New York. The fact that their continuous harassment of the UFC and laughable (not to mention libelous) smear campaigns have only hurt the economy of the state they are trying to “protect” is an irony that has apparently been lost on them.

In either case, it appears that the UFC has grown tired of seeing so many websites backed by the CU — websites that, like the CU itself, operate under a false front — popping up over the years, and has launched their own counter-website, TheTruthAboutCulinary226.com. The website aims to both expose the Culinary Union for the dissembling moralists that they truly are in addition to uncovering just how poorly the organization is managing its own member’s funds:

The Culinary Union has targeted Station Casinos because the company refuses to agree to a “card check” process whereby the Culinary Union may become the representative of its employees without being elected as such through a secret ballot election. Rather than simply following the secret ballot election process that U.S. federal law provides, the Culinary Union’s management has instead waged a dishonest campaign to pressure Station Casinos to capitulate to its demands. As part of that campaign, the Culinary Union has been engaging in harassment tactics that target all of the business interests of the Fertittas, including Station Casinos and the UFC.

The Culinary Union has criticized Zuffa for making political contributions of $231,650 in 2012. However, in 2012, UNITE HERE itself spent almost 5 ½ times more than Zuffa on cash disbursements for political activities and lobbying, totaling $1,252,676.Additionally, UNITE HERE paid a total of $1,158,598 to “consultants” in 2011.

Words cannot express how much we dislike the group of two-faced, propaganda pushing arseholes that are The Culinary Union (although we sure do try), but we have to admit that they’ve raised an interesting debate whilst digging up dirt on some of the fighters participating at UFC on FOX 5. First, they rallied to get Jeremy Stephens removed from the card as a result of his past transgressions, and now they’ve uncovered some information about undercard fighter and debuting UFC lightweight Abel “Killa” Trujillo that is simply too glaring to overlook:

Abel Nazario Trujillo, another cage fighter scheduled to compete on the UFC fight card on Dec. 8th in Seattle, has twice pleaded guilty to Domestic Abuse Assault Causing Bodily Injury, an aggravated misdemeanor. In both cases, the victim was identified as the mother of his child. In May 2007, Trujillo also pleaded guilty to Obstruction of an Emergency Communication.

In the plea agreement, Trujillo acknowledged that the crime required the State to prove that his alleged assault victim was making a 911 call, Trujillo knew that she was making a 911 call, and Trujillo hung up the phone. Trujillo competes under the nickname “Killa.”

Jesus. That is some cold-blooded shit right there.

Now, we feel that there is one major discrepancy between the cases of Trujillo and Stephens that needs to be addressed. For starters, Stephens has yet to be convicted of anything. His trial date is set for January 9th, and despite the evidence against him, Stephens should not receive a mandatory/preemptive punished in a country whose legal system declares that we are all innocent until proven guilty.